2 sentenced for extorting payments for golf course project
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Two men who extorted thousands of dollars from contractors seeking work on a New Jersey golf course project have received prison sentences.
Federal prosecutors say 66-year-old Middletown resident Gerard Pica on Wednesday got almost three years and 60-year-old Beachwood resident James Castaldo got more than four years. The men are jointly responsible for paying $54,000 in restitution.
The men pleaded guilty last November to conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right.
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Prosecutors say the men took money from contractors in exchange for using their influence with the Hudson County Improvement Authority, which was building a nine-hole public golf course in Jersey City.
The men schemed to obtain payments from an environmental consulting firm and a recycling business that sought to provide soil and fill material for the project.